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3 Contemp. Crises 41 (1979)
Peru: From reformism to the orthodoxy of 1977

handle is hein.journals/crmlsc3 and id is 41 raw text is: Contemporary Crises, 3 (1979) 41-51 41 © Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam. Printed in the Netherlands PERU: FROM REFORMISM TO THE ORTHODOXY OF 1977 LUIS PASARA A social scientist from the United States who has been studying the Peruvian scene in recent years visits Lima every other year to follow the political process. He always asks well-informed people how long they feel the military government will stay in power. Before 1970, the replies ranged from two to four years. Between 1971 and 1974 forecasts rose to at least 10 years. Recently, it has been hard to find anyone willing to predict over two years more under the armed forces government. Just what has been happen- ing in the meantime? An across-the-board failure of the reformist project of the military, and a disguised return to the acceptably orthodox rules of the capitalist game. At the start of the military government on October 3, 1968, it was hard to detect the existence of a program which the government planned to carry out. It is more likely that the program emerged from actions. Three years ago, in August 1975, when General (Juan) Velasco (Alvarado) was replaced as head of the government, a second phase of the government program was announced. However, the sharp difference between the first and second phases casts a shadow upon the events of the former - including two separate attempts to construct a political model under the leadership of Velasco, without altering the economic program. Since the coup by (General Francisco) Morales Bermudez, however, it has taken two years to implement a substitute economic program. A return to private enterprise capitalism, is not a sufficient definition of the political form of this program; it is also important to ask if the program portends a continuation of the military in the government, or a return to elections and civilian rule. A Project for Conciliation 1968 showed a distressing political picture in Peru. Beside suffering from the failure of a lukewarm reformist attempt by President Fernando Catholic University, Lima, Peru